With His Money, Junior Can Afford to Be the Mulligan Man

JetHawk Manager Dave Brundage, an avid golfer, has a secret for loading up on golf balls: play with Ken Griffey Jr.

Brundage and Griffey, pals from their days together in the minor leagues, have played golf several times. Griffey’s technique is to buy about four-dozen balls per round, hitting each shot over and over until he hits one he likes, Brundage said.

One time when they played in Arizona during spring training, Brundage said Griffey repeatedly hit balls off the fairway and into the desert and didn’t bother to go pick them up.

So Brundage, who was still on a minor-league salary while Griffey had become a multimillionaire, wasn’t ashamed to take a few detours into the desert, “dodging snakes” to pick up balls.

“He’s a good guy to golf with,” Brundage said with a smile. “I hate paying for golf balls.”

Love on the links: Emilee Klein, winner of back-to-back LPGA Tour events, has a caddie who is in hot water.

Ken Harms, Klein’s caddie and boyfriend, made a promise that has placed him in an unexpected situation.

“He told me that if I won on tour this year, he’d buy me a ring,” said Klein, a Notre Dame High graduate.

But Harms didn’t get to be a caddie on the tour without being able to skillfully navigate through the rough.

“I never said I would give it to her,” he said.

Moving on: If Kim Mortensen’s recent workouts are any indication, the June graduate of Thousand Oaks High should be in for a superb freshman cross-country season at UCLA.

Mortensen set a national high school record of 9 minutes 48.59 seconds in the 3,200 meters in May and Thousand Oaks Coach Jack Farrell said she is training at an even higher level.

“She continues to run faster in practice,” Farrell said. “She looks like she’s really ready to jump in at a very high level.”

Mortensen won the national high school cross-country title last December and has continued to improve.

While her best time over Mt. San Antonio College’s three-mile course last year was 17:14, Farrell said she appears capable of breaking 16:30 right now.

“I’ve got some guys on the team who should run under 16:30 at Mt. SAC,” Farrell said. “But they can’t keep up with her in workouts.”

Terrific threesome: Mortensen is among three former Marmonte League champions who could be near the front of the pack at the NCAA cross-country championships Nov. 25 at Dell Urich Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz.

Sophomore Amy Skieresz of Arizona and senior Ryan Wilson of Arkansas, both formerly of Agoura High, are expected to contend for top-five finishes.

Skieresz was runner-up in the women’s race in the 1995 NCAA championships. Wilson was fifth in the men’s competition.

Help wanted: Moorpark College’s women’s soccer team has a hole in its goal. Again.

Last season, Coach Mike Scanlon had to put out an all-points bulletin to find former Royal High keeper Joleen Redublo, who backstopped the team to an 11-2-3 record and the Western State Conference title.

Redublo was supposed to be returning to the team, but Monday, Moorpark’s first day of practice, she told Scanlon she wants to concentrate on academics and will not play this season.

Scanlon said he couldn’t recruit a goalkeeper because the prospects assumed they would have to compete with Redublo, who posted 10 shutouts. With the season starting Sept. 13, Scanlon is desperate.

“I may compose an ad,” Scanlon said. “Wanted: Quick goalkeeper with good range. Must have good hands and be willing to eat the ball for the team. Must take nine credits plus soccer class.”

Quotebook

“That was the most inspiring thing I have ever seen since I’ve been coaching. I have as much or more respect for Richard Dice than any player I’ve ever been involved with.”

--Arizona football Coach Dick Tomey, commenting on the former Alemany High standout in the Arizona Daily Star. In the Wildcats’ final game of the 1995 season against Arizona State, Dice, playing with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, made a key reception in a game-winning drive for Arizona.

“Right now, we’re trying to find who can hit and tackle. The ones who can’t, I guess we’ll just have to make them kickers.”

--Defensive coordinator Robert Garcia, talking about the first week of San Fernando High football practice.

Contributing: Jeff Fletcher, Michael Lazarus, John Ortega, Tris Wykes, Peter Yoon.